Monthly Archives: October 2016

WELL-POSITIONED HOTEL POWERPOINTS “Why can’t outlets be at eye level,” Seinfeld creator Larry David said in the movie, Clear History. “What, are they like genitals … we have to hide them; why are we hiding outlets?” Many a late night has been spent on hand and knee moving bedheads, desks and pulling on lampwires to locate the elusive hotel powerpoint. So it’s a relief when a new or renovated hotel… Read Article →

Emirates has been named the best airline in the world for 2016 by the leading consumer-aviation website Skytrax. The Dubai-based airline was presented with the award on Tuesday at a ceremony during the 2016 Farnborough Airshow. This is the fourth time Emirates has garnered this honor in the past 15 years and is its first win since 2013. Emirates’ victory unseats last year’s top airline, Qatar Airways. “We are honored to… Read Article →

While not everyone will have pondered the subject while staring out of the window during a flight, the question as to why aeroplanes have circular windows rather than square ones is interesting. Over the years, aerospace engineering has made huge leaps in aeroplane technology, meaning planes can carry more passengers and go faster. The planes have also changed shape to increase safety – including the windows. In the 1950s, when jetliners were starting… Read Article →

Could a bathroom break have doomed Malaysia Airlines 370? That’s the question behind the exploration into the mysterious March 8, 2014 disappearance of the airplane with 227 passengers and 12 crew over the Indian Ocean. The crash is one of many investigated in the new book ‘The Crash Detectives’ by Christine Negroni. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) may have stepped into the bathroom just as a massive decompression in the… Read Article →

Wellingtonians and taxpayers may soon be asked to stump up $200 million, based on the belief that hundreds of thousands of visitors are “missing”. As Tim Brown tells it, the first time he discussed a “back of the envelope”-type analysis of the cost to extend Wellington runway with the airport’s chief executive, Steve Sanderson, the conversation was “completely negative”. An executive at infrastructure investor Infratil and chairman of Wellington International… Read Article →

Clearly the waste isn’t dropped out of the plane (or we would definitely know about it) – so how does it all work? It’s one of life’s great questions – what happens when you flush the toilet on a plane? You’re 37,000 feet up in what is essentially a metal tube, so what do they do with the waste from all those passengers? Obviously they can’t drop it out –… Read Article →

Working on a plane? Ask for a blanket to ease the strain. Airplanes can be productive work zones, but the traditional laptop pose — head tucked in, shoulders rounded, arms akimbo — can lead to back and neck strain. The problem: The service tray keeps your laptop too low, and you hunch over to accommodate. That’s where the blanket can help. Just fold it up and put it under your… Read Article →

If you’ve ever wondered why the window shades in an aircraft have to be kept open during takeoff and landing, we can now reveal the answer. Passengers are asked to take this step so that cabin crew members can look out of the windows to assess which side of the aircraft is safest to disembark from in case of an emergency . Aviation safety officer Saran Udayakumar explained on question-and-answer… Read Article →

The two-seater kit aircraft bounced twice and rolled onto its side at Culbokie Airfield in June. Pegasus Quik: Microlight crashed on landing (file pic). Creative Commons by TM / Cropped A pilot was rescued from his crashed microlight after a failed landing near Inverness. The two-seater kit Pegasus Quik aircraft bounced twice and rolled on to its side at Culbokie Airfield in June. Its 39-year-old pilot suffered minor injuries and was… Read Article →

A MARRIED flight attendant who bragged about steamy romps with her colleagues in a graphic sex diary was left horrified when her husband tried to publish it. In the saucy memoir, she documents her sexual encounters on the plane and at hotels during stopovers in intimate detail, with many of her lovers allegedly married pilots, The Sun reports. When her betrayed husband discovered the digital diary, he tried to serialise… Read Article →